All Fire-type Starter Pokemon, ranked

Fire-type Starter Pokemon have always been fan-favorites in the franchise, starting with Kanto's Charmeleon which could evolve into everyone's beloved Charizard. As new regions were gradually introduced, other starters filled the pool with unique designs, new abilities, and revamped mechanics. While many of these starters saw regular usage in teams owing to their stats and battle abilities, some got sidelined because they were outshined by other Fire-type Pokemon.

In this article, we will be ranking all the Fire-type Starter Pokemon from all the mainline games, based on their usage, the battle prowess of their evolution line, and their overall popularity. Keep reading to find out if your favorite one made it to the top of the list.

Note: This list is subjective and solely reflects the writer's opinions.

Ranking all the Fire-type Starter Pokemon

9) Tepig

Tepig ranks last amongst the Fire-type Starter Pokemon. (Image via TPC)

The Unova Fire-type Starter Pokemon, Tepig, falls short in many areas. To name a few, its evolution line up till Emboar has a very limited movepool, which restricts their offensive variety. Furthermore, the dual Fire/Fighting-type does not offer any significant advantage in the Unova region, making them less strategically valuable when compared to other Fire-type starters out there.

8) Cyndaquil

Cyndaquil as seen in the anime (Image via TPC)

Cyndaquil is a typical case of mediocrity when it comes to Fire-type Starter Pokemon. The critter and its evolutions do perfectly fine, but that's just about it. It is fine, perfectly average, nothing more.

The critter is by no means bad, but it is easily outshined by the other Pokemon mentioned in this list. Typhlosion, its final evolution has a decent spread, but Fire-type Starters from latter generations have higher stats and a wider movepool.

7) Scorbunny

This Fire-type Starter Pokemon from the Galar region boasts one of the best designs in recent times, but it falls off as a viable monster for a couple of reasons. First, its movepool leans heavily on physical attacks, and it lacks the coverage of some other fire starters, which can make it less versatile in battles.

Secondly, while its final evolution Cinderace is a decent pick, it is outshined by other Pokemon like Centiskorch, which can deal better damage and even has its own gigantamax evolution.

6) Chimchar

Chimchar in the Pokemon anime (Image via TPC)

Chimchar and its evolution line is undoubtedly one of the best in the Sinnoh region. With decent stats and a dual Fire/Fighting-type on its final evolution Infernape, this evolution line does extremely well in most teams from the Sinnoh region.

This Fire-type Pokemon suffers from only one particular flaw - its stat distribution in later evolutions. Infernape does not identify as a Physical Attacker or a Special Attacker - it does both (or neither). It's better to focus on any one of these aspects rather than giving it a best-of-both-worlds approach.

This well-rounded stat distribution limits Infernape's effectiveness as an attacker in competitive matches.

5) Fennekin

Fennekin as seen in the anime (Image via TPC)

Although Fennekin's final evolution Delphox has an interesting dual Fire/Psychic-typing, it only performs well in very niche scenarios. The Kalos region boasts a plethora of Steel-type Pokemon that resist Fire-type attacks, while the Psychic-typing does not provide much offensive or defensive capabilities to the Pocket Monster.

As a Sp. Attacker, Delphox does have a high stat in that field, but its other stats are underwhelming, which makes it a subpar choice when compared to other Fire-type Starter Pokemon.

4) Fuecoco

Fuecoco is a wild card entry that nobody expected to be good, but it has proved to be the exact opposite. Although the Hisuain Typhlosion also has the dual Fire/Ghost-typing, Fuecoco's final evolution Skeledirge is the first starter evolution line with an innate Ghost-typing.

Apart from having access to powerful Fire and Ghost-type moves, Skeledirge has the powerful Unaware ability, which is an instant game changer in competitive battles. This Pocket Monster also has a signature move of Torch Song, which makes it stand out as a truly unique Fire-type Starter Pokemon evolution line.

3) Litten

Litten in the Pokemon anime (Image via TPC)

Litten and its evolutions had the potential to top this list owing to their massive popularity, which was only boosted by Incineroar's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Incineroar found a place in many competitive teams owing to its Intimidate ability, and its dual Fire and Dark-types offered more than just a sprinkle of offensive power.

The Litten evolution line ranks third for a simple reason - the other two entries outshine it completely in terms of stats and popularity (we all know which Fire-type wins when it comes to popularity).

2) Torchic

Torchic as seen in the Pokemon anime (Image via TPC)

Torchic was easily the most overpowered Fire-type Starter Pokemon ever released, thanks to both its evolutions, Combusken and Blaziken. Fire/Fighting-types may be shunned down now, but when Torchic's evolution line did this, it was largely applauded because for the first time, a starter Pokemon could tackle the Rock-type gyms.

Blaziken's amazing stat spread and the overpowered ability of Speed Boost almost guaranteed it a spot in all teams, as it could easily cheese through the Elite Four of the Hoenn region as well. And on top of that, Mega Blaziken's arrival just proves how much Nintendo loves its chicken-in-jeans as well.

1) Charmander

Charmander is the best Fire-type Starter Pokemon (Image via TPC)

Charmander undoubtedly tops the list of Fire-type Starter Pokemon. Calling its final evolution Charizard "popular" would be a huge understatement, and every non-Pokemon person knows of its existence. In fact, Charizard is so popular, that it is the costliest and most sought-after trading card as well!

Charizard boasts decent stats overall, and with its dual Mega Evolutions, it caters to a wider range of battle-hungry players. Charizard Mega X is a Physical Attacker, while Mega Y is a Sp. Attacker. And finally, the Pocket Monster even has a Gigantamax evolution! Nintendo is not even trying to be subtle when showing love to everyone's favorite flying lizard.

Edited by Jito Tenson